The opposition Move Forward Party has attacked the government’s public relations budgets totalling nearly 3 billion baht, saying there are numerous overlapping PR projects and many do not appear to benefit the public.
Pukkamon Nunarnan, a party list-MP, pointed out a loophole in the plan to allocate 2.94 billion baht of taxpayers’ money for advertising and public relations.
A detailed review showed there were overlapping projects amounting to more than 600 million baht, notably anti-drug campaigns. The Prime Minister’s Office, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), and the Defence and Interior ministries all have related campaigns planned, she said.
Questions were raised about whether these campaigns would genuinely aid the public, she said.
As well, the Anti-Fake News Centre, which is supposed to be neutral and independent, appears to defend particular parties, while also concealing information that could benefit the public. This is worrisome as the centre could be transformed to become a political tool, Ms Pukkamon said.
Although the government does not have a budget specifically allocated for promoting a “soft power” TV programme, she noted that 36 million baht had been set aside for schemes to enhance Thailand’s image and for “proactive” public relations on the international stage.
The National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) now has 729 social media channels, including 313 TikTok accounts and 129 YouTube channels. Ms Pukkamon questioned the necessity of all these.
She also referred to a TV channel which owned a private company that had shut down, with some programmes transferred to state-run NBT.
Although the Public Relations Department assured this was in compliance with its regulations, Ms Pukkamon said the news programmes in question had low ratings and might not be in the public’s interest.
She proposed that loopholes in the advertising and PR budget be closed to ensure transparency, stressing the government must avoid using taxpayers’ money for self-promotion. She also urged the media not to take sides in political matters.
The Government Procurement and Inventory Management Act should also be amended to clarify PR expenses and procurement methods in the public interest, she added.
